The 2008 Utah Men’s tennis team will hit the courts for its first matches of the year in the preseason U Intercollegiate Tournament beginning today at the Tennis Center. The Utes, who were Mountain West Conference co-champions last season, are looking to get off to a strong start as they host teams from across the MWC, including in-state rival Utah State.
Last year, Utah finished the season with a 13-10 overall record and beat BYU in order to clinch a share of the MWC regular-season title.
This season, Utah will return a stellar team, minus two key players, Zach Ganger and Miron Mann. Ganger was named MWC co-player of the year and Mann also earned all-MWC singles and doubles honors for the 2008 season. Mann was voted as the team’s most inspirational player and co-captain last season.
Despite these losses, the Utes have recruited a JC transfer student from Indiana, Phillip Eilers, who is originally from Salzgitter, Germany. In the 2008 season, he posted an overall record of 21-18, in addition, his doubles team with Lachlan Ferguson, beat a No. 30 doubles-ranked Michigan tandem. The team is looking for him to be a key addition come game time, and the next few days will prove that.
“We are very fortunate to have Phillip as a transfer,” head coach F.D. Robbins said. “We expect good things out of him.”
Utah will use this weekend of three days of tennis to get set for the regular season beginning in Jan. 2009. This event is the first of two preseason tournaments occurring this Fall.